Lincoln Book Buzz

The session started pretty small, with about 5 kids there at 3:00. I began with Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek, (Hopkinson and Hendrix) This is a pretty long story-- and it's a bit confusing because the narrator "breaks the fourth wall" and asks questions directly of the reader. I was a bit worried if the younger kids would understand what was going on. I edited out a bit of those types of details just in case. The gist of the story is that, as legend has it, Abe's childhood friend Austin once saved him from drowning, and Abe remembered him for the rest of his life. One of the kids happened to be named Austin, and was pretty chuffed to know that "his name" had rescued the President. I was happy that everyone really paid attention and seemed to definitely enjoy a complex story. We talked a little about what it means to be a friend, which was very sweet.
Then-- on to the chocolate...
Thanks to Gus at the grocery on OP Ave., I was finally able to come up with milk cartons for the log cabin craft. The kids LOVED it, and it was actually less messy than I had feared. There were two helpful moms who helped me wrangle, and Jenny helped too. (thanks Jenny!)
I decided to forgo the Abe Lincoln beard /hat craft today. The cabins took longer than I thought they would, and when I tried out the craft yesterday I found it more appropriate for older kids with more developed small motor skills. I'm going to think about how we might market this craft to older kids around President's Day.... any thoughts?
In any case-- I'm proud to say I survived my first Book Buzz!